Coming Soon? A 5-Mornings-After Pill

By
Zoe Ruderman

Jun 23, 2010

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You may have heard some buzz recently about a new emergency contraception called Ella. Here's what it's all about: unlike Plan B, the brand name of EC you're probably familiar with, Ella would require a prescription from your doctor. And while Plan B is effective only in the first 72 hours (and works best within the first day), Ella is just as good at preventing pregnancy five days after unprotected sex as it is the moment after the condom breaks. And according to Paul Fine, MD, Medical Director at Planned Parenthood Houston and Southeast Texas and Louisiana, Ella "has an increased effectiveness during the preovulatory period [the first two weeks of your cycle], which is when fertility is highest."

Though it's not yet available in the U.S., an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration just recommended the approval of Ella. And according an article in the New York Times, the FDA "usually follows the advice of its advisory panels but not always."

The reason the FDA might not take the panel's advice in this case is that Ella is a close chemical cousin to RU-486, the so-called abortion pill. That has stirred up controversy because some say that instead of preventing pregnancy, Ella may actually end a very early pregnancy. But Dr. Fine says, "The primary mechanism of Ella is to prevent ovulation and therefore prevent pregnancy. There is no evidence that, even if taken at higher doses, it causes abortion."

Do you think Ella should be available in the US? Have you ever taken Plan B? Have you ever waited too long after unprotected sex to take it? Would you use it instead of Plan B if you had the option?